Chapter 497   The Farce in the Third Prince’s Other Courtyard

It was a sleepless night in Prince Yi’s Manor.

Having married two brides simultaneously, one would usually visit the princess’ place at night, but Prince Yi was no ordinary person. No one knew which bride he would visit. When they saw him head to Ning Xueyan’s courtyard, they thought that he would be staying there instead of Commandery Princess Xianyun’s place.

To their surprise, the so-called favorite concubine of Prince Yi sent her maid to Consort Ning’s place to invite Prince Yi. That left the candles in the two bridal chambers lit all night. On the contrary, it was the concubine’s courtyard that looked like it had just celebrated a joyous occasion.

It was said that several concubines argued so much that they even kicked up a fuss at Consort Ning’s place. Consort Ning’s maid had to chase them away. Later, a housekeeper came and punished the trouble-making concubines with 20 rod-beatings. If the manor wasn’t having a celebration, they would have been beaten to death.

The other person destined for a sleepless night was Ao Mingyu. He hadn’t expected to kidnap Ya Moqin instead of Ning Xueyan. To make things worse, the Emperor had already granted Ao Mingwan’s marriage request by making Ya Moqin his consort.

It wasn’t a secret whom Ya Moqin had loved. She had wanted to check out the festivities on the day of Prince Yi’s wedding with her maid, only to knocked unconscious. By the time she regained consciousness, she found herself in her cousin’s side courtyard. Others might not recognize the place, but she knew everything here like the back of her palm.

She was overjoyed, thinking that her cousin bringing her here meant that he couldn’t bear to let her go. The brilliant bridal robe that she was wearing had surely been prepared by her cousin as well. She was so elated that she stayed quiet and waited for Ao Mingyu to return at night without kicking up a fuss.

The idea of marrying her cousin before other women made her so happy that she ate an additional half a bowl of lunch. Then, with a red face and a happy mood, she bashfully waited for Ao Mingyu’s return with a red veil over her head. She had been unsatisfied with her wedding in the first place and had been making a racket in the manor for the past few days.

It was Grand Tutor Ya who finally calmed her down. He told her that they would just send her to the Fourth Prince’s Manor as a lowly concubine without a title instead of as a consort. Her life or death would have nothing to do with Manor Ya from then on.

His words gave Ya Moqin a bad fright. She had been pampered since young, even often bullying his father’s concubines in the manor. Once, she had even beat a concubine pregnant with her father’s child to death. Naturally, she dared not to make a fuss anymore after considering that she might be experiencing such days.

However, it wasn’t her that was causing trouble but her cousin. This meant that it had nothing to do with her!

His cousin must still love her to secretly bring her here to marry her. She believed that he would surely request a title for her in the future. Never mind a consort, she might even be his princess. Thus, she wasn’t at all worried. Her cousin wouldn’t let her suffer.

She was over the moon and terribly bashful, too. That made her unusually quiet as she sat by the bedhead and waited for Ao Mingyu to come back and lift her veil.

Unexpectedly, she found Ao Mingyu indignant.

Ao Mingyu had already heard that Ning Xueyan was safe at Prince Yi’s Manor. Knowing that an unknown hiccup had occurred, he drank only a few cups of alcohol before excusing himself and rushing to his secondary courtyard outside the city. When he came down from the carriage, he discovered that the person inside the hijacked marriage sedan was his cousin, Ya Moqin.

Had it been an ordinary woman, he would have silenced her with murder, but he couldn’t do anything to Ya Moqin. So much time had passed as well. He had to secretly send Ya Moqin back as quickly as possible to prevent the matter from blowing up.

He rushed into the courtyard and found Ya Moqin sitting upright on the bed. She was dressed in a crimson bridal robe and wore a veil over her head. He walked over to her, tore the veil away, and grabbed her hand to take her out. “Cousin, you should go home now. Grandfather must be worried sick about you.”

Ya Moqin wasn’t just Grand Tutor Ya’s granddaughter, but also the Fourth Prince’s future consort. It was scandalous to have her dressed in a bridal robe and sitting on his bed.

Ya Moqin had been overjoyed and bashful when she heard the sound of Ao Mingyu’s footsteps. The moment he had pulled her veil away, she was calling him in a sweet voice, “Cousin.”

To her surprise, the next thing Ao Mingyu did was drag her out of the room. She staggered and nearly fell.

She grabbed Ao Mingyu’s hand and said in a panicked voice, “Cousin, what’s wrong? I’m Qin’er.”

“I know. You should go home. Grandfather and Aunt must beside themselves with worry at home,” Ao Mingyu replied without stopping down. The carriage was already waiting for them outside the door, ready to take Ya Moqin home. It was still early now, and he had Grand Tutor Ya for support too. Even if they had discovered Ya Moqin’s disappearance, they wouldn’t publicize it.

“Let them worry if they want to. I’ll only listen to you, Cousin. I’ll yours from now on and I’ll never go back to Manor Ya anymore.” Ya Moqin didn’t understand Ao Mingyu at all; she thought that her family was pressuring him. She immediately put up a struggle to express her loyalty to him. Raising her blushing face, she looked at him with determination.

“You’re betrothed to my Fourth Brother,” Ao Mingyu said.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll follow you from now on. Even if Grandfather wants to forcefully take me home, I’ll still stay with you. Cousin, I’m sure Grandfather wouldn’t break us apart when we love each other. In the past, Grandmother used to say that she wants us to get married.” Ya Moqin hugged a nearby pillar with all her might, refusing to leave this place.

Ao Mingyu couldn’t just forcefully pull her away, so he stopped and tried to persuade her. “Cousin, it’s up to our parents to determine an important matter like our marriages. How can we decide ourselves? Besides, you’re betrothed to my Fourth Brother now. You must never say similar words again.”

“But, I really like you, Cousin! And you love me too. Let’s enter the palace and beg Aunt. I’m sure she’ll let us get married,” Ya Moqin said with certainty, thinking that she had found a leeway for her cousin. Either way, she wasn’t willing to marry the Fourth Prince and her cousin returned her feelings. So why couldn’t she marry her cousin instead? She didn’t want to give up the spot to that slut from the Lord Protector’s Manor!

Her words were getting increasingly excessive. Ao Mingyu looked at the sky impatiently and knew that he couldn’t afford to wait anymore. The longer he waited, the more likely a problem would occur.

“Cousin, go home first. When this matter passes, we’ll talk about this again. If you truly want the best for me, I won’t forget about you either.” Knowing Ya Moqin’s temper, he had no choice but to patiently persuade her.

“No, I’m staying here! I want to be with you forever and ever. I want to marry you! I don’t want anyone else,” Ya Moqin stubbornly insisted. She turned around, giving up the pillar, and tugged onto Ao Mingyu’s sleeve to please him.

Seeing that she still didn’t understand the situation, a look of disgust crossed Ao Mingyu’s eyes. He pulled Ya Moqin’s away from his sleeve. “Cousin, someone sent you to my place. If we let others find about our relationship, it’ll really be the end of you. Father would just scold me, but you’ll be drowned for your infidelity and your reputation will also be ruined. You’ll also affect Uncle and Aunt,” Ao Mingyu said, sneering.

Drowned for infidelity? These words were like a bolt of lightning striking Ya Moqin’s head and her face instantly turned pale. “Cousin, is someone targeting us?”

“Yes, so leave now. You have to return to Manor Ya as quickly as possible, and you also must not let anyone know that you came to my place.” Ao Mingyu was also panicking himself. Everything had happened so suddenly that his plan was ruined. Never in a million years would he imagine that Ya Moqin would appear in his courtyard, which explained why he was so desperate to send her off.

Ya Moqin had finally realized how grave the situation was. Not daring to say anything else, she hastily followed Ao Mingyu to the backdoor.

A carriage was waiting outside the backdoor. Ao Mingyu helped Ya Moqin remove her headdress and outer bridal robe before stuffing her inside the carriage, not caring that her messy hair and attire looked as if she had been raped.

He let out a sigh after seeing the carriage disappear from his sight, relieved that he had finally sent Ya Moqin away.

The carriage entered the city and stopped outside Manor Ya’s backdoor. Ya Moqin sneaked down the carriage with her clothes in disorder and knocked on the door. When a female servant heard the knock, she was about to swear but upon seeing that it was her first mistress, she immediately opened the door and let Ya Moqin in.

The coachman looked around outside the door. When he didn’t see anyone else, he drove the carriage away to inform the Third Prince.

No one noticed the other carriage at the corner of the street opposite. Looking in from the half-open window, one would see Ao Mingwan sitting inside. His eyes were colored with hatred and disgust as he watched Ya Moqin leave the carriage. Sure enough, this slut was having an affair with Ao Mingyu. To think that these two dared to meet outside the city on the day of their uncle’s wedding.

He had noticed how Ao Mingyu had left the banquet in a rush. Judging from Ya Moqin’s messy clothes and hair, it was obvious that they had just returned from a clandestine meeting.

“Your Highness, should we report this to the Emperor?” his trusted eunuch asked in a low voice.

“No. We’ll keep this a secret for now.” Ao Mingyu sneered. What he needed now was Grand Tutor Ya’s power. Even if he couldn’t get Grand Tutor Ya’s support, he must eliminate their manor’s support for Ao Mingyu. That way, he would be able to reduce Ao Mingyu’s power.

As for Ya Moqin that slut, well, he would be sure to take his revenge.

He pulled the curtain down. “Return to the manor!”

Under the dark sky, the carriage gradually pulled away. No one noticed the ordinary-looking carriage, that had been waiting near Manor Ya’s backdoor for almost two hours, leave quietly.

An unusually handsome man sat on the second floor of the manor opposite Manor Ya, sipping his wine as he watched the Fourth Prince’s carriage leave. His thin lips curved into a faint smile, his smiling expression making his face all that more beautiful.